Kerchief

ABSTRACT

A kerchief member for wearing about the head, the kerchief member having a preformed securing means which is engagable at the rear portion of the wearer&#39;s head.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

Applicant claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No.60/695,180, filed Jun. 30, 2005.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to a kerchief, and in particular, thekerchief of the type worn to protect the wearers head, maintain thewearer's hairstyle, and to absorb sweat.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In recent years, kerchiefs worn on the head have regained theirpopularity. This return to popularity may be attributed to sportswherein on any football Sunday, the viewer might see a professionalfootball player having a kerchief disposed about his head before donninga football helmet. Construction workers typically wear a kerchief abouttheir head when performing their work while wearing a hard hat. Stillfurther, ordinary people during leisure activities may be seen wearing akerchief about their heads in order to protect their scalp from thedamaging rays of the sun, rather than wearing a hat.

In these instances, the kerchief, being a piece of square fabric, isfolded to form a triangle and is fitted about the forehead, and twocorners of the fabric serving as the ends are tied at the back of thehead with the remaining fabric being tucked beneath the knot. Since theindividual must tie the knot behind his head and not within view, thepositioning and securing of a kerchief about the head requires somepractice.

Applicant has developed a kerchief with a preformed securing means whicheliminates the need for the wearer to secure the kerchief by tying aknot out of view behind the user's or wearer's head.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide for a novel kerchiefhaving formed thereon a preformed securing means for securing thekerchief about the head of the user.

A further object of the present invention is to provide for a novelkerchief in which the securing means is elastic.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for anovel kerchief for securing about the head of a wearer wherein thesecuring means is a preformed hook and loop fastener.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A kerchief member for wearing about the head, the kerchief member havinga preformed securing means which is engagable at the rear portion of thewearer's head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent,particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

FIG. 1 is a planar view of the pattern of the kerchief of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the kerchief of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a side view of an individual's head and the present inventionsecured in one manner thereto; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the user's head with the second embodiment ofthe kerchief and the present invention secured thereto in an alternativemanner.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a planar view of the pattern of the kerchief of the presentinvention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled kerchief.The kerchief 10 consists of a head piece 12 which is cut generallyrectangular and defines an outer peripheral edge 14 formed by opposinglateral edges 14A and 14B and opposing longitudinal edges 14C and 14D.The outer peripheral edge 14 is turned on itself and double hemmed 16about the peripheral edge 14. A neck or nape engaging member 18 isgenerally rectangular in shape having opposing longitudinal edges 18Aand 18B and opposing lateral edges 18C and 18D. Neck or nape engagingmember 18 is cut and designed to encapsulate a resilient elastic member20 which is positioned centrally longitudinally on neck or nape member18, neck or nape member 18 is then folded about the resilient elasticmember 20 and seamed, joining edges 18A and 18B. The neck or napeengaging member 18 is then pleated 22 so that lateral edges 18C and 18Dcoincide with ends 20A and 20B of elastic member 20 and is then engagedwith head piece 12 by having ends 18C and 18D of neck or nape engagingmember 18 sewn at opposing points 24 of the peripheral edge of the headpiece 12. In doing so, the head piece 12 proximate points 24 are foldedor pleated 26 to give a shape to the head member. Additionally, neck ornape engaging member 18 is pleated 22 along its entire length, so as toallow for expansion when the elastic resilient member 20 is stretchedabout the nape or neck of the back of the head of the individual.

FIG. 3 is a perspective side view of one embodiment of the kerchief 10of the present invention and a manner in which it is worn. In thisembodiment, the head piece 12 is placed over the head of the individual,with the front peripheral edge portion 14 abutting the forehead 32 andbeing taut with the head. The neck or nape engaging member 18 withresilient elastic member 20 is positioned proximate the rear of the ear34 of the wearer and extends downwardly and about the nape of the neckor head 36. In this embodiment, the head piece so worn, presents a tailportion 38 which hangs over the neck or nape engaging member 18.

Considering FIG. 4 which is a perspective view of an alternate manner ofwear of the kerchief 10 of the present invention, the kerchief ispositioned on the head in the same manner as illustrated in FIG. 3. Inthe second embodiment, the tail portion 38 can be tucked inside theresilient elastic neck engaging member 20 to provide for a taughtness ofthe head engaging member about the entire head.

The dimensions of the various elements of the kerchief may vary withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. However, it hasbeen found that a head piece after the peripheral hemming, of adimension of 15½ inches by 16 inches suffices for a great number of headsizes. The nape or neck engaging member with a length of 13½ inches anda width of 4 inches encapsulating a resilient flexible member of 6½inches in length and 1½ inches in width suffices to provide sufficienttension about the neck or nape so as to maintain the kerchief inposition.

The material used to construct the kerchief can be any suitable fabric.With respect to the head piece 12, consideration can be given to thetype of use and the climatic conditions under which it will be worn todetermine the required degree of absorbency desired by the materialutilized.

While the present invention has been described with respect to theexemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can beachieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited onlyby the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof.

1. A kerchief to be worn about the head, the kerchief comprising: a headpiece formed of cloth, cut generally rectangular, defining an outerperipheral edge, which outer peripheral edge is turned on itself andhemmed, said head piece defining a front portion and a rear portion; anape engaging member generally rectangular in shape having opposinglongitudinal edges and opposing lateral edges, said nape engaging memberis turned on itself and hemmed to encapsulate a resilient elastic memberpositioned centrally and longitudinally within said nape member, saidnape engaging member being pleated so as its longitudinal ends coincidewith said resilient elastic member, said nape engaging member beingsecured to opposing points on said peripheral edge of said head piece;said front portion of said peripheral edge of said head piece engaging aforehead portion of the head, said nape engaging member engaging thenape region of said head and said rear portion of said peripheral edgeof said head piece extending about the rear portion of said head.
 2. Thekerchief in accordance with claim 1 wherein said rear portion of saidperipheral edge of said head piece is positioned beneath said napeengaging member.
 3. The kerchief in accordance with claim 1 wherein saidhead piece, said nape engaging member, and said resilient elastic membercomprised of materials which are washable.
 4. The kerchief in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said head piece is formed of a perspirationabsorbing cloth.